Nico’s expression turns darker. “Apparently, she’s not the only one.”
Icy chills make goosebumps appear on my skin.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
I turn toward him, my brows pulling together as my mind tries to connect all the dots.
“The MO is the same. Girl goes missing, only to be found dead. Although in their case it took longer to find her. Their victim also showed signs of physical and sexual abuse before she was strangled to death and dumped in the woods.”
That uneasy feeling grows stronger in my gut. “Colorado is over six hundred miles away.”
“That was my first thought as well.” Nico slides his hand into his pocket and pulls out his phone, and after a few taps, he hands it to me. “But then Ward sent me a picture.”
I suck in a sharp breath at the sight of the photo on the screen.
“This is her, Nicole Kelly. She was twenty-two when she went missing.”
My fingers grip the phone tighter as I take in the smiling face of the woman. Her golden-brown hair falls in a straight sheet, hazel eyes crinkling at the corners as she looks at the camera.
“She was a nurse,” I say when I notice her uniform.
“An ultrasound tech student.”
I shake my head. “She looks just like our girl.”
“That’s why Ward called. Andrea was a biologist, not the same, but close enough. Their physical similarity, though, is uncanny.”
“No shit,” I mutter, still staring at the photo.
The two girls could have been sisters.
Golden hair. One had hazel eyes, the other brown. They were both young and pretty.
An image of Jessy pops into my mind.
And now that it has, I can’t unsee it.
Golden-haired, amber-eyed Jessica.
A shudder of unease creeps down my spine.
The girl—bothgirls—could totally pass for Jessica.
“Fucking hell.” My head snaps up as the realization hits me. “You don’t think this is a coincidence, do you?”
Nico’s expression turns grim. “No.”
Placing the bottle onto the wooden railing, I run my fingers through my hair. “A fucking serial k?—”
“We’re not sure,” Nico interjects before I can finish. “There are people looking at it right now, both over here and back in Colorado. Ward said he’ll go through the case again and try to see if there are any other connections.”
“That isn’t a no, Rivera,” I grit out, my heart beating wildly inside my chest.
Nico doesn’t even flinch at my harsh tone. “No, it isn’t.”
I curse again, tugging at my hair. This can’t be happening. What are the chances? I shake my head, not daring to even think about it. Still, there is no avoiding the facts.
The similarities.
